Saturday, June 29, 2024 9:16 AM
At Sheepie Sleepovers wellness retreat in Scotland, you can spend days with sheep, an experience that Adam Bloodworth says is incredibly stress-relieving.
“This is where Dougal hosts his management training sessions,” Becky Routledge explains, pointing to an empty barn. “If the company is on American time, he works late. We keep the lights on.” Dougal is a sheep, but I’m not a sheep. think Both Routledge and his daughter Rivka have lost track.
Becky gave up a career in music a few years ago to become the world’s number one sheep advocate, swapping horn playing for Hedges. A three-day visit to Becky’s farm convinced me that her career change was a great one. “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of sheep?” Becky asks, standing on the porch with a beautiful view of the mountain peaks and rugged shrubland of southern Scotland’s central Highlands.
My friend was hysterical and unable to control his food, and my hands were soaked with sheep saliva.
The sheep are sniffing after us, and it’s clear that there are no humans for miles around. “That’s ridiculous,” I reply, because I think that’s the right answer. Routledge nods, duly, making it clear that I’m wrong. It turns out that the animals are at least as intelligent as dogs, and “feel a tremendous amount of empathy.” The sheep may look silly, but Routledge’s message is clear: it’s time we all take the Hardys, derived from their breed name, Hardwick, to heart.
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Routledge cares deeply about her pack of six, and not just because she’s one of them. Before we go for “tea” with them, Routledge delivers an impassioned sermon: The animals consider us one of them from the moment we’re together. We mustn’t stand too close to them, and we mustn’t reach out to pet them. They’re mercurial, and any sudden movement will frighten them. “When they come to you, that means ‘pet me now,'” Routledge says. “Leave everything else alone. It’s a huge compliment. It shows you’re the leader.”
It’s a very caring thing to sit with them and put your hands deep in their curly fur to massage their skin. Unlike dogs, they are independent and most of the time they can’t be bothered by human affection, so they feel very honored when they choose to stand beside you. If you follow Becky’s instructions, it’s perfectly clear when they want to be petted. They are lovably awkward and won’t stand within a few feet of you unless absolutely necessary, so it must feel good to have a human pet them.
And then, unexpectedly, surrounded by animals, Routledge turns the flippant tone to something more serious, asking me how life is in London. Her Sheepie Sleepovers retreats combine beautiful natural surroundings with soft therapeutic elements. When Dougal, the pack leader, casts a sidelong glance at me, I can’t help but relax. I answer her question honestly: “It makes me quite anxious.” Talking about your feelings while closely observing the sheep is an effective strategy, and so is Routledge’s genuine interest in you. She may do this for a living, but you get the sense she’s interested in connecting on a human level, too.
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Back to the fun stuff, Routledge appears at the front door with a metal tin full of food and a warning that the sheep can be “mischievous.” We’re told to keep the sheep away from the tin and to only feed them small amounts by hand, which is like telling a man locked in a room with an angry bull to wave a red flag a little. The sheep have had tourists like me sit around this table before, and like an angry bull, they’ll try to take whatever they can get their hands on.
Becky gave me a breathing and counting exercise to use when I feel anxious – it’s so simple that I’ve been putting it to good use since I got back to London.
As soon as the can was opened, one of the Hardies headbutted the lid. It went flying. Harrison shoved his whole face into the food and I felt the box land with a thud in my lap. He turned comically sideways to fit his whole head inside the box, peering at me with his left eye as he finished the whole box. My friend was hysterical and had completely lost control of the can. My hands were soaked with sheep saliva. I tried to put the lid back on, but bang! Another sheep attacked. It was gone. One was standing on the floral tablecloth. Food was everywhere. We were flooded.
Then Routledge appears with a tiered cake display full of delicious baked goods slathered in jam made from fruit from the garden, Dougal tries to snatch human food from the tablecloth, and we sip our tea anxiously and munch our food, terrified that Rocky will pluck our treats and eat them himself.
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We stayed in an outbuilding 30 metres from the sheep. It’s a cosy guesthouse where you could easily spend a week. A Shaun the Sheep board game was attractively placed on the table, but we decided we’d had enough of lamb for today – not exactly – and enjoyed another drink at the Black Bull pub in the nearby village of Gartmore, a community pub saved by locals after a crowdfunding campaign. Routledge told us not to talk about farming in front of the sheep; when I forgot once, she covered Dougal’s ears.
The next morning, after yoga with Rivka (wellness activities are built into the itinerary, with time for a beautiful hike at nearby Loch Lomond), we returned to the barn with the sheep. Becky taught us some breathing and counting exercises to use when anxiety hits us. They’re so simple, we put them to use when we got back to London. The funny thing is, during the 48 hours, we briefly forgot why we needed them in the first place.
Visit the mischievous sheep for tea (or a little therapy) Scotland
To book visit teawithnaughtysheep.com or email bex2310@yahoo.co.uk Prices for a three night retreat start from £549pp. Afternoon tea starts from £68. Corporate packages can be tailored for larger groups.
